Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006

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Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006
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  Ed Rendell ID2004 crop (cropped).JPG Lynn Swann official photo (cropped).jpg
Nominee Ed Rendell Lynn Swann
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Catherine Baker Knoll Jim Matthews
Popular vote2,470,5171,622,135
Percentage60.4%39.6%
Pennsylvania Governor Election Results by County, 2006.svg
Election results by county
Rendell:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Swann:      50–60%     60–70%
Governor before election

Ed Rendell
Democratic

Elected Governor

Ed Rendell
Democratic

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006, and included the races for the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania position

The Lieutenant Governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently of the gubernatorial primary. The winners of the party primaries are then teamed together as a single ticket for the fall general election. Democrat John Fetterman is the incumbent lieutenant governor. The lieutenant governor presides in the Senate and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.

Contents

The incumbent governor, Ed Rendell (Democrat), ran for re-election. Pennsylvania's first female lieutenant governor, Catherine Baker Knoll, was also running for re-election.

Ed Rendell American lawyer and politician

Edward Gene Rendell is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author who, as a member of the Democratic Party, served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011 and the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia from 1992 to 2000.

Democratic Party (United States) Major political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party.

Catherine Baker Knoll American politician

Catherine Baker Knoll was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008.

Background

Rendell and Knoll had the advantage of incumbency, important in the swing state of Pennsylvania. Rendell's approval rating as of May 2006 was 62%. [1]

Swing state In U.S. politics, a state where no candidate or party has overwhelming support, making the state a key determiner of electoral outcomes

In American politics, the term swing state refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate. These states are usually targeted by both major-party campaigns, especially in competitive elections. Meanwhile, the states that regularly lean to a single party are known as safe states, as it is generally assumed that one candidate has a base of support from which they can draw a sufficient share of the electorate.

In the 2000 Presidential election, then Vice President Al Gore won the state 51%-47% over then Texas Governor George W. Bush. In 2004, Senator John Kerry carried the state 51%-49% over incumbent President Bush.

Vice President of the United States Second highest executive office in United States

The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the President of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as President of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president presides over Senate deliberations, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president also presides over joint sessions of Congress.

Al Gore 45th Vice President of the United States

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Gore was Bill Clinton's running mate in their successful campaign in 1992, and the pair was re-elected in 1996. Near the end of Clinton's second term, Gore was selected as the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election but lost the election in a very close race after a Florida recount. After his term as vice-president ended in 2001, Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist, whose work in climate change activism earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Texas State of the United States of America

Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

Although the state had voted Democratic in eight of the past 12 presidential elections, its Congressional delegation had been majority Republican for years. The counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny are the Democratic strongholds (Philadelphia: 75% Democrat, Allegheny: 60% Democrat), while the central part of the state is where the Republican Party fares best. The 2005 statewide party registration had Democrats out-numbering Republicans in the state 3,841,429 to 3,292,656, with 939,252 registered independent voters. [2]

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania County in the United States

Philadelphia County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2017, Philadelphia County was home to an estimated population of 1,580,863 residents. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsylvania by land area. Philadelphia County is one of the three original counties, along with Chester and Bucks counties, created by William Penn during November 1682. Since 1854, the county has been coterminous with the City of Philadelphia, which also serves as its seat of government. Philadelphia County is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD, located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. Philadelphia County is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley, the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States, with a population of 7.2 million.

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania County in the United States

Allegheny County is a county in the southwest of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2017 the population was 1,223,048, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh. Allegheny County is included in the Pittsburgh, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and in the Pittsburgh Designated Market Area.

Democratic Primary

Michael Morrill, the Green Party's nominee for governor in 2002, considered challenging Rendell on a progressive liberal platform. On February 13, 2006, Morrill however stated that he would not run, citing the toll his 2002 race took on his family. [3] [4] Rendell thus ran unopposed.

Results

Democratic Party primary
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Democratic Ed Rendell (Incumbent)654,985100.00%

Republican primary

Lynn Swann, Jeff Piccola, Jim Panyard and Bill Scranton III all announced their intention to run in the Republican primary for governor in 2006. Scranton, who served two terms as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, is the son of popular former Governor William Scranton, and a member of the wealthy and politically influential Scranton family, was the early front-runner. However, a series of blunders by his campaign, [5] and a lack of momentum from the Piccola and Panyard campaigns moved Swann into presumptive nominee status. [6] The state Republican party then endorsed Swann, leading the three other candidates to drop out ahead of the March deadline to file for the primary.

Candidates

Declared

  • Lynn Swann, Steelers Hall-of Famer and chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Withdrew

Declined

Results

Republican Party primary for Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Republican Lynn Swann 583,658100.00%

Candidates

Four candidates were campaigning for governor, [13] but only two went on to appear on the ballot in November. Rendell and Swann both were unopposed for their respective major party nominations. Constitution candidate Hagan Smith and Independent candidate Russ Diamond were unable to secure the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot. On August 11, Green Party candidate Marakay Rogers withdrew her nominating papers, following a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats, who alleged more than 69,000 signatures on the petitions were fake names, unregistered voters or illegible. [14] The challenge followed Republican Senator Rick Santorum's drive to collect signatures to put Green candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot. [15]

Rogers continued to campaign, hopeful that a federal appeals court would rule favorably in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's signature requirement for third party candidates. [16]

Analysis

Challenging Rendell was former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer, Lynn Swann (R). His running mate was businessman Jim Matthews, Montgomery County Commisoner and the brother of MSNBC's Chris Matthews.

Former Steeler Lynn Swann courts voters tailgating before a football game between Pennsylvania's two football teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Swann In Philly 08.25.2006.jpg
Former Steeler Lynn Swann courts voters tailgating before a football game between Pennsylvania's two football teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

In July 2005, a Zogby Poll showed Rendell with only a 47% to 41% lead over Lynn Swann. Some speculated that controversy over Act 72, proposed Medicaid cuts, and possibly even a legislative pay increase that was signed into law had reduced the Governor's popularity.[ citation needed ] Also, when compared to other polls, the six percent lead was an outlier[ citation needed ]. Rendell has led in other recent polls by significantly higher margins.

Following that poll, Rendell's supporters pointed out that he has raised more money than his opponents[ citation needed ], which they felt would help him spread his message[ citation needed ]. They also pointed out that no Pennsylvania governor had lost re-election since the 1950s, [until the PA Constitutional Convention of 1968, Pennsylvania governors were limited to one consecutive term—therefore a correct statement would be "no PA governor has lost a bid for re-election since 1970"] and that, as a sitting governor, Rendell had all of the traditional advantages of an incumbent. [23] [24]

Swann hoped to perform strongly in the conservative "T" section of the state (the central and northern regions) and in his native western Pennsylvania area[ citation needed ]. On 7 February 2006 Swann served as master of ceremonies for the Pittsburgh Steelers's Super Bowl XL victory parade before 250,000 people. [25] Swann canvassed for votes among tailgating voters in Philadelphia before the Steelers game against the Eagles. [22] Polls in early February showed Swann and Rendell in a statistical tie. [26]

However, Swann's momentum did not survive an effective barrage of advertising from Rendell in early spring and had trouble keeping up with Rendell's effective fundraising. [27] Swann's focus on "reforming" Harrisburg never caught traction, possibly as a result of his vocal support for Chip Brightbill and Robert Jubelirer, two legislative leaders who were defeated in the May 2006 primary election. [28]

Polling

SourceDateRendell (D)Swann (R)
Temple/Inquirer Poll September 24, 200660%33%
Rasmussen September 22, 200656%36%
Zogby/WSJ September 11, 200651.6%42.1%
Zogby/WSJ August 28, 200648.4%43.5%
Rasmussen August 25, 200650%38%
Strategic Vision August 17, 200651%41%
Quinnipiac August 16, 200657%38%
Rasmussen July 26, 200650%40%
Zogby/WSJ July 24, 200647.5%41.1%
Strategic Vision July 20, 200649%36%
Rasmussen June 26, 200650%36%
Quinnipiac June 22, 200655%31%
Zogby/WSJ June 21, 200647.7%43.4%
Strategic Vision June 15, 200649%38%
Rasmussen May 25, 200652%34%
Quinnipiac May 12, 200655%33%
Strategic Vision May 10, 200649%41%
Keystone Poll May 3, 200649%35%
Rasmussen April 29, 200641%44%
IssuesPA/Pew Poll April 17–26, 200630%29%
Muhlenberg April 17–24, 200645%39%
Strategic Vision April 13, 200644%42%
Quinnipiac April 5, 200647%37%
IssuesPA/Pew Poll March 30, 200629%35%
Rasmussen March 28, 200644%41%
Strategic Vision March 15, 200644%44%
Muhlenberg [ permanent dead link ]March 4, 200646%43%
Rasmussen Feb 21, 200646%43%
Quinnipiac Feb 15, 200648%36%
Keystone Poll Feb 9, 200645%42%
Strategic Vision Jan 25, 200644%46%
Rasmussen Jan 19, 200643%45%
Strategic Vision Dec 21, 200545%41%
Quinnipiac Dec 13, 200548%35%
Strategic Vision Nov 16, 200545%42%
Rasmussen Nov 7, 200550%36%
Strategic Vision Oct 19, 200546%41%
Keystone Poll September, 200553%33%
Strategic Vision Sept 12, 200548%43%
Strategic Vision Aug 2, 200547%41%
RasmussenJuly 20, 200547%41%
Keystone Poll June 200542%32%
Keystone Poll March 200559%29%

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2006 [29] [30]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Ed Rendell (Incumbent)2,470,51760.33
Republican Lynn Swann 1,622,13539.61
Write-in —2,6700.06
Total votes4,095,322100.00
Turnout  50.05

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Survey USA
  2. ↑ 2005 Municipal Election
  3. ↑ Morrill Majority
  4. ↑ Morrill release Archived 2006-03-22 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ http://articles.philly.com/2006-01-27/news/25411116_1_bill-scranton-campaign-manager-first-black-governor
  6. ↑ https://www.si.com/vault/2006/02/27/8370760/lynn-swann-goes-deep
  7. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  8. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  9. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  10. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  11. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  12. ↑ "GOP Shortlist for Governor". PoliticsPA . The Publius Group. 2002. Archived from the original on November 8, 2002.
  13. ↑ Politics1: Pennsylvania
  14. ↑ "Green Party candidates give up". Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  15. ↑ Green Party candidate withdraws [ permanent dead link ]
  16. ↑ Minor parties sue Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine .
  17. ↑ Ed Rendell's Campaign Website
  18. ↑ Lynn Swann's Campaign Website
  19. ↑ Green Party
  20. ↑ Hagan For Governor site Archived 2006-01-29 at the Wayback Machine .
  21. ↑ "Russ Diamond's Campaign Website". Archived from the original on 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
  22. 1 2 Ritter, Kara (August 2006). "Ex-Steeler looks to sway support of Eagles' fans". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
  23. ↑ Madonna analysis Archived 2005-12-14 at the Wayback Machine .
  24. ↑ Franklin & Marshall College ( Terry Madonna ) Center for Politics & Public Affairs Archived 2005-12-18 at the Wayback Machine .
  25. ↑ A quarter-million thanks Archived 2012-09-06 at Archive.is Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
  26. ↑ Rendell, Swann in dead heat Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine .Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
  27. ↑ Barnes, Tom; Roddy, Dennis B. (November 8, 2006). "Rendell cruises to 2nd term as governor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  28. ↑ Deparle, Jason (May 18, 2006). "G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  29. ↑ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-18.
  30. ↑ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 7-84.

Sources

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